Council ponies up for Orcas Farmers' Market at the Village Green

County Parks Manager Dona Wuthnow faced a grilling from Orcas East Council member Gene Knapp when she presented the Parks Department budget to the County Council on March 30.

In seeking council approval for the Parks funding ordinance, Wuthnow said that the hike in the Farmers Market fees from $5,000 to $7,600 was necessitated by the 45 percent cut in the current county budget. This cut necessitated across-the-board cuts in services, including closing the county’s day parks, she said.

At the same time, the Parks Department has seen a $21,000 increase in costs for Eastsound’s  Village Green Park, where the Farmers Market is held on Saturdays through the summer. Most of that expense is incurred in maintaining the public restrooms there, Wuthnow said.

Maintenance for the public restrooms located on the Village Green has been shifted among the Parks Department, the Orcas Chamber of Commerce and the Eastsound Sewer and Water District, but it ultimately has rested with the Parks Department.

(Sewer District Commissioner Ed Sutton said following the County Council meeting on March 30 that he would bring up funding for the restrooms at the next Sewer District meeting, scheduled for April 14).

She further explained that 56 percent of the parks department revenue comes from fees paid for use of its facilities.

Fees for county park usage were created in the late 1990s. Vendor fees for the 38-year old Farmers Market have increased from $25 in 1999 to $350 in 2008.

Knapp cited a $14,000 carry-over from last year’s Parks Budget and questioned why the increase in the Farmers Market lease needed to be so high.

Knapp observed, “The Park board is balancing its budget on the Farmers Market. That’s not right.”

Wuthnow said that, with the Parks’ budget being cut so severely, she felt it was necessary to keep the $14,000 in reserve for emergency needs. She noted that the Village Green was the only day park that remained open in the Parks cost-cutting process.

However, if the Farmers Market lease revenue didn’t come in to the Parks Department, they would have to re-evaluate keeping the Village Green open.

“I don’t buy it,” Knapp responded.

Wuthnow replied that the fee schedule is set by ordinance, and suggested that the council or the community subsidize the Farmers Market. “I don’t have any recommendations, except that we can’t cut the park budget any more… the volatility in the Parks budget is because so much of it is based on fees.” She noted that the fee income is 10 percent less this year than it was last year at this time.

When Council Chair Rich Peterson asked where the council could provide alternative funding, County Administrator Pete Rose said that the council could subsidize the Farmers Market by debiting the county’s fund balance.

County Council member Howie Rosenfeld then questioned at what level the council should support the Orcas Farmers Market.

Farmers Market Manager Charly Robinson suggested that $2,500 would allow the market vendors to pay the same fees as they had paid last year.

Council member Bob Myhr from Lopez proposed that the Council request $3,000 be allocated for the Farmers Market, with the additional $500 being used to investigate ways of supporting the market outside the Parks budget.

The Council approved the request for $3,000, to be presented at the Council’s regular meeting on March 31.

Members Rich Peterson and Howie Rosenfeld voted against the proposal, citing the additional $500 as the reason for their vote.